The present disclosure relates to an image obtaining apparatus, an image obtaining method, and an image obtaining program obtaining an image by using a microscope.
In the past, in the treatment of breast cancer and the like, there has been used a method in which a surgically-resected slice of tissue is analyzed and based on the analysis result, a medicine to be administered to a patient after the operation is selected.
For example, a surgically-resected slice of tissue is subjected to fluorescent staining by use of the HER-2 DNA probe kit from Abbott Laboratories. When the slice of tissue is irradiated with excitation light, HER-2/neu genes emit red fluorescence, and alpha-satellite DNA sequences emit green fluorescence. Thus, the HER-2/neu genes are marked by read bright points, and the alpha-satellite DNA sequences are marked by green bright points.
In diagnosis using a fluorescence microscope, the number of red bright points and that of green bright points are counted. In the case where the number of red bright points is 2.2 times or more larger than that of green bright points, a HER-2 positive reaction is determined. In this case, when a molecular target drug called Herceptin (trade name) from F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. is administered to a patient, a significantly good prognosis of the patient after the operation is expected (see HER-2 Examination Guide, 3rd edition, Trastuzumab Pathology Working Group, September 2009, p. 10 <FISH-method determination method>).
Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2011-107669 discloses a technology of detecting bright points, which mark a cell, from a fluorescent image of a biological sample. Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2011-107669 discloses a biological-sample-image-obtaining apparatus. The biological-sample-image-obtaining apparatus images a target site of a biological sample, which is magnified by an objective lens. In the imaging, the focus of the objective lens is appropriately moved so that the accuracy of detecting bright points can be improved.